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The ABC of Shower Door Seal

It’s true that the topic of shower door sealing for inexperienced homeowner could be pretty confusing. If you have no idea about what a shower door seal is and how it works, here are some fundamentals of how you can get into shower sealing.

Most of the shower doors with glass commonly used for shower enclosures, no matter bypass or sliding doors, cause a big problem: water leaks through the shower door frame while the door slides or pivots. Over time the leakage causes bigger problems like musty smell from the damp, damage to the floorboard, plasterwork and wood joist. To prevent those repair bills coming unannounced, the smart solution is to apply shower door seals to the glass.

Shower seal strip is an innovative concept that shut the gap between the shower panels. It is a small profile normally made of PVC or EVA, clipped to the edge of the glass working as a seal to keep water inside the shower tray, rather than all over the outside floor.

The choice of sealing material for your shower door varies, foam, rubber, vinyl are few to name. Among all the available materials in the market, PVC is regarded as the priority pick. It's the least visible materials (so that your fascinating shower screen does not look funny with the small gasket) featuring great durability, working years before it perishes, and most importantly flexibility which makes it an ease for individual homeowners to install.

There are different types of seals and they are used for different sealing applications. However they could be used in both ways: as single type or combination.

A shower door sweep or a door wipe is a sealing strip profile snapped onto the bottom edge of a swinging shower door. The soft wipe functions as a water tight seal drags along the floor and protects water from leaking outside the shower tray.

A shower door threshold is a rubber strip adhered to the curb of shower tray or fastened to the shower floor. It presses against the bottom of the door and makes water drain back into the tray. Shower door thresholds work better with a door wipe.

A shower door shoe is a flexible plastic or rubber gasket fitted at the door's bottom part acting as a shower seal.

Each type of shower seal fits for a special application. However to seal a larger gap between floor and the door bottom, usually a house owner needs both door threshold and a door seal to do the job.

When do I need to replace the shower door seal?

When do I need to replace my door seals?

Your shower seal may get yellow, perish or shrink over time due to the opening and closing of the door, it becomes less effective as a seal. This is the time when you should replace it with a new one. Neglecting the worn out seal causes water leakage and even bigger troubles like musty damp smell, damage to the plasterwork, floorboard and wood joist. Just an easy action of replacement may save you a large repair bills.

How to: replace my shower seal?

Replacing a shower door seal is a much easier task than you think it is. The whole project takes only minutes to accomplish.

Step One,
Make sure the new door seal is with the correct dimensions for your glass thickness. For examples, you need an 8mm door sweep for a glass shower door with 8mm thickness. Some seals are 2 thickness compatible. That’s to say you may use an 8mm seal or a 6-to-8mm seal or an 8-to-10mm seal for an 8mm glass. For more tips on the measuring, see how to measure the glass thickness and length. If you still have problems, take the old shower seal to the hardware shop after you finish Step Three and consult an expert.

Step Two
Make sure the gap to be bridged is not either too large or small for the seal. Otherwise the seal will do no good or too tight against the floor or the wall.

Step Three
Remove the old shower seal carefully. Don’t try to slide the seal out, it won’t come off. Simply grasp the edge of the shower seal and pull it off slowly and gently. Use a knife or other tools if necessary.

Step Four
Clean your glass screen with glass cleaner or simply with water.

Step Five
Swing out or slide the door and leave it open.

Step Six
Cut the new seal to the right length as needed. For your curved screen, pay attention that you may need the seal to be a little longer than the length you measured. Measuring the length of curve screen tends to be a bit complicated and you’ve probably got a wrong figure if you didn’t do it right. So making the seal a little longer is a safe idea; you can trim the excess when installation is done.

Step Seven
Snap the seal onto the edge of the glass door. Start at one end and press it down gently all the way along.

Step Eight
Cut off any excess as necessary.

Step Night
Take a quick shower to test the new seal. Check the floor to see if there is water leaking. If yes, you may need to replace with another seal that meshes with your shower door.

How to replace my shower seameasure the glass thickness and length?

A careful measure of your screen glass is essential to get the right seal that fits your shower screen.

Step One: Measure the thickness of your glass with a ruler or a tape measure.

Note that the result you get is always an even number like 6mm, 8mm or 10mm, etc.

Step Two: Measure the length of your glass screen. Use a soft tape measure for a curved glass, and keep in mind that the result you get might be a little shorter than the actual length of the screen. Make it a little longer than what you measure since you can cut the excess after installation.